The Detroit Free Press building is ready to undergo a massive renovation to change what was once a newspaper building into a mixed-use building with retail, office, and residential space. On April 25, Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group announced it was selected as the architect of record and historic consultant for the project.
The building, located at 321 W. Lafayette, is one of the last high-rises in Detroit’s downtown core that remains abandoned. The restoration will include structural updates, complete masonry restoration, new energy-efficient windows, and a new interior design that will better equip the building to handle its new mixed-use role.
Many of the 271,858-sf, 14-story building’s historic elements and details will be preserved. The rest of the structure will be modernized to eliminate any hint that the building was vacant for 19 years. “We understand the challenges and preservation techniques needed to maintain historic elements while adding modern amenities,” KDG Principal Brian Rebain says in a release.
Kraemer Design Group is no stranger to historic preservation in the Detroit area. The firm has also worked on the East Main Redevelopment in Milan, Mich., which earned a Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation.
The renovated Detroit Free Press building is scheduled to open in 2020.
Related Stories
Libraries | Sep 18, 2019
The $115 million renovation of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library completes
Beyer Blinder Belle led the project.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jun 5, 2019
The French Senate doesn’t want your Notre Dame restoration ideas
France’s Prime Minister Édouard Philippe originally wanted to hold an international competition to redesign the cathedral’s roof.
Reconstruction & Renovation | May 22, 2019
Foster + Partners converts historic D.C. library into an Apple store
The building was the city’s first public library.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Apr 24, 2019
Century-old hotel and bathhouse to be repurposed into a public park in San Antonio
Phase one of the project has recently completed.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Apr 5, 2019
Historic Corrigan Tower in Dallas becomes 1900 Pacific Residences
The 18-story Corrigan Tower in the Dallas’s historic downtown district is now a thriving 150-unit apartment residence community.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 27, 2019
Interior restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frederick C. Robie House completes
The AIA designated the Robie House as one of the 10 most significant structures of the twentieth century.
Mixed-Use | Feb 21, 2019
An R&D-oriented innovation district is taking shape in the heart of Durham, N.C.
Its buildout has included converting old tobacco warehouses into offices and labs.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Feb 7, 2019
Restoration of Chicago’s Union Station Great Hall completes
Goettsch Partners designed the project.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 2, 2019
Rebuild or renovate?
With some facilities, a little creativity can save money and salvage a building worth saving.
University Buildings | Nov 26, 2018
Vacant Dartmouth College building to become faculty and graduate student center
Leers Weinzapfel Associates designed the project.
